A Necessary Road to Success

All over the world breeding successful sport horses is a long and stony road. There are indeed different possibilities to reach a goal. But there will be no success without selection, no selection without testing, and no testing without training.

One step on this way is to tell interested breeders with the best possible neutrality something about interior and jumping ability, as well as under-saddle ability, the quality of the three gaits and - the most important criteria - the rideability of the young licensed stallions. To compare these results there have to be equal rules. Dr. H.-D. Nebe - responsible for stallion testing in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany - reports from the third 30 day-test at Tulsa, Ok.

It's always a pleasure to come to the well-prepared facilities of Silver Creek Farms, which is quite central in North America. Here horses and training crew are well cared for during the whole thirty days, starting once again with exemplary veterinary care. We can proudly testify again that head trainer Harald Hoffman and his crew did an excellent job improving the level of education of the five and six-year-old horses, within only four weeks.

All stallion owners can be proud of their stallions. All stallions passed the test relaxed and with soft links of the reins between mouth and rider's hands, as attested to by test riders Jessica Wisdom and Edgar Langen, Germany. The average of rideability is increasing from year to year. The German test judges Rainer Pillasch and Hans-Dieter Nebe were pleased to score the basic gaits on a high level. Three stallions would be able to sustain their positions in a test in Germany too.

The impressive progress during the training of all stallions was only possible, however, with this quite good willingness to work they have. While the main focus of several stallions was a tendency to dressage, all stallions accepted the jumping exercises with relaxation and pleasure. All stallions have been on the right way of training.

From this age-based successful training start, stallion owners can build over the next months to start presenting these talents in sports. All test judges and test riders know that the best validation of their results is to observe the sporting career of successful stallions who completed the preceding tests. Several of these already prove the conviction to keep 30 day-tests running with combined efforts. However, the number of tested horses has to increase to run the test efficiently.

Its promising that most of the North American sport horse registries met in these days for the first time on the invitation of Summer Stoffel, president of Silver Creek Farms. All in attendance recognised the need for a universal stallion licensing format comparable to the 30/70 day tests held in Germany. These tests are accepted not only by the German FN, but more and more German testing stations prove stallions coming from Sweden to Italy and from France to the East.

But now let's walk the talk. Whatever the result will be, stallion owners will demand professional treatment of their stallions during the test, breeders will want results which are useful for breeding, and stallions will require adequate training to start the test. It's up to the stallion owner to choose competing at the highest level, 30 day-test and competition on a young horse level, 70 day-test, or just laissez-faire. Don't give up hope - the road to success is a quite stony one.